


Making Today a Perfect Day

by molegria



Category: Frozen (2013)
Genre: F/M, Frohana, KCIJ2018, Kristanna Christmas in July, snow sisters
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-07-29
Updated: 2018-07-29
Packaged: 2019-06-17 23:33:40
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,664
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/15472560
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/molegria/pseuds/molegria
Summary: It was a funny thing, having your birthday on the summer solstice. The sun didn't set; if you weren't looking at the clock, and didn't go to bed, you could just keep celebrating it well into the next day.Anna/Kristoff light, fluffy one-shot set immediately after the events in Frozen Fever.A Kristanna Christmas in July gift to @freckled-princess-of-arendelle and the whole Kristanna community on Tumblr.





	Making Today a Perfect Day

**Author's Note:**

> This is my humble (and late) Kristanna Christmas in July gift to dear @freckled-princess-of-arendelle. I'm sorry for the delay, and I hope you enjoy it!

It was a funny thing, having your birthday on the summer solstice. The sun didn't set; if you weren't looking at the clock, and didn't go to bed, you could just keep celebrating it well into the next day.

 

Anna had vague memories of enjoying her extra-long birthdays as a little child. Back then she had been too young to fully appreciate it — she believed she had managed to stay awake past midnight on her fifth birthday, but she couldn't say for sure. And after that she stopped enjoying birthdays, anyway. Her parents always tried to keep her happy; sure, there had never been a shortage of toys and clothes, and Gerda always made her a big layered cake. But Elsa wouldn't come out of her room, no matter how many times she cried "please, just for today" at her door. What should have been the best day of the year became one of the worst. Being the _longest_  day of the year just made things gloomier.

 

But she'd survived them, all thirteen of them. And now she had her sister back, and birthdays were fun again, and she was nineteen.

 

My goodness, she was a grownup.

 

Well, technically she had been a grownup for a whole year by now; she could drink (being able to hold her liquor was another story), sign contracts (paperwork was boring) and get married (she shuddered to think she'd almost acted on that one). But her eighteenth birthday had been so depressing, with Mom and Dad gone and Elsa still in that damned room, that Anna had just blocked the day from her mind and postponed any ideas regarding her coming of age. And after that there was the coronation, and Elsa's powers, and, well. There was too much to think about beyond the fact that she was a grownup.

 

The realization of her own adulthood flooded her now, like the sun coming through the window and painting the room in yellow hues.

 

Elsa's coughs broke her out of her reveries, and she closed the heavy curtains as best as she could. It was probably around eleven o'clock and her sister was in very much need of sleep. Anna sat on the bed beside her and held her hand. She was still a bit hot, but improving.

 

"I hate being sick," Elsa mumbled, her voice hoarse.

 

"Everybody hates being sick. If you said you liked it, I'd think the fever had fried your brain." Anna helped her sit up and added one more pillow behind her back. "You heard the doctor. Just rest and drink plenty of liquids. You'll be out of bed in no time."

 

There were a few knocks at the door, then Gerda showed up with a tray. "A little soup, your Majesty?"

 

Elsa smiled. "Oh, Gerda, you're too kind." The maid came into the room and placed the tray on the nightstand, sitting on the other side of the bed. The food smelled wonderfully. "I wish I could actually _taste_  your soup. I bet it's delicious."

 

"I'll make more soup for you once you get better, then." Gerda patted the Queen's hand as if she were a little child, then turned to Anna. "Anna, dear, Mr. Bjorgman just came back from the North Mountain." That brought a smile to Anna's face. She had seen him from the window, arriving at the castle with Sven and Olaf, but she didn't want to leave her sister alone to go talk to him. "I thought you might want to see him, so I asked him to wait around a little bit. He should be in the entrance hall with Kai and the— _eeep_!"

 

She jumped away from the bed as if she'd seen a cockroach. Anna and Elsa leaned to look at where she was pointing; there were four of Elsa's tiny snow creatures peeking out from under the bed.

 

"Don't worry, Gerda, they're harmless," Anna tried to soothe her, but apparently the little things — Olaf called them  _Snowgies_ — could smell fear. They crowded around Gerda's feet as she whimpered "shoo, shoo" and shuffled around the room. Anna collected them one by one and threw them on the bed next to their creator, but they kept jumping around like small kittens.

 

"At least I don't make them when I cough."

 

"We'd be filling Kristoff's sleigh with another batch if you did," Anna laughed, cradling three of them while her sister played with the fourth. Gerda eyed them wearily and sat back on the bed, picking up the bowl of food. "Speaking of Kristoff, do you mind if I go downstairs for one minute? I'll just say goodnight and thank him for helping with everything."

 

Elsa rolled her eyes, smirking. "Don't give me that 'one minute' nonsense." She swallowed the spoonful of soup the maid offered her, then continued. "It's your birthday. Go take a walk with him or something. I promise I won't die if you leave my side for longer than a minute."

 

"You better not, or I'll have to follow you into the afterlife and drag you back here." Anna dropped the Snowgies on the bed and kissed her sister's forehead. The little creatures promptly tried to jump inside the bowl of hot soup.

 

Gerda lifted the bowl above her head, struggling to keep the suicidal snowballs away. "Take these little pests with you, dear. They may be harmless, but they still give me the creeps."

 

* * *

 

It didn't matter what Olaf said about hugs: holding a snowman was impossible. Particularly the Snowgie variety of snowmen, who didn't even have arms. They were tiny, bouncy balls of fluffy snow, and Anna did her best to carry them against her chest like babies, but they were soft and she feared she might squish them if she held them any tighter. However, if she held them in a loose embrace they would just jump out — which they did, several times along the way. She managed to reach the castle entrance with only one of them still in her arms, another balancing itself on her shoulder, and the other two running amok around her feet.

 

"Hey, stay put—no, you come back! Stop that!" The two on the floor crossed the open doors into the courtyard, and the two that had remained in her person followed suit. She would have run after them, but as soon as she stepped outside she found them crowded around Olaf, who was sitting at the front steps with Kristoff and Kai.

 

"Ohhh, more little brothers?" The Snowgies seemed equally enthusiastic about meeting their larger counterpart. (It might have been because of the snow flurry.)

 

Kristoff got up, far from being as pleased. "Oh, no. Did I miss those?"

 

"No, they came out after you left. One per sneeze." Anna rolled her eyes. Olaf and the Snowgies were running around the courtyard now, the larger snowman declaring that he had always wanted a big family.

 

She brushed her skirts and smiled at Kristoff, but his eyes drifted elsewhere. He blushed, drawing random circles in the air and pointing at her chest. She wondered if this was some kind of compliment on her figure; she never expected to attract male glances to that area (Elsa was more gifted than her in that regard), and this dress didn't even have a revealing neckline. On the contrary, she even had a linen shirt under it — which, she noticed now that she looked down at her bosom, was sporting a Snowgie-shaped water stain right in the middle of it.

 

"Here, dear." Trust Kai to save the day. Before she could run away flailing and screaming about wardrobe malfunctions, the servant provided a handkerchief.

 

"Thank you, Kai." She rubbed the handkerchief against the spot, trying not to look like she was fondling her breasts in the process. Kristoff was suddenly interested in the castle's architectural features, while Kai (who had pretty much raised her) just chuckled and rolled his eyes.

 

"So, how's Elsa?" Kristoff asked to break the awkward silence.

 

"She's a little better," Anna answered, spreading the handkerchief over the 8-shaped stain and pressing it against her ribcage with both hands. "I managed to convince her to stay in bed. The fever went down. Gerda is with her now, trying to get her to eat." Kristoff nodded and gave her a little smile, and she answered with one of her own, heart fluttering inside her chest.

 

Kai cleaned his throat, and Anna realized she was still holding his handkerchief against her breasts.

 

Kristoff cleaned his throat as well, turning his eyes to anywhere that was not Anna. "Well, I should probably get going..."

 

"Wait, I was wondering if you'd like to go for a walk?" She gave her shirt a final pat, satisfied that most of the stain had vanished, and returned the handkerchief to Kai. "I mean, if you're not too tired."

 

"Are you sure? It's late." Anna noticed Kristoff shooting a side glance at Kai.

 

"It's not so late," said Olaf. Two of the Snowgies had climbed on his head; one of them had its tiny head stuffed into the flurry. "The sun is still out."

 

"The sun will be out all night, Mr. Snowman. It's midsummer," Kai argued back. Then he turned to Anna with an expression of fatherly concern. "And I must agree with Mr. Bjorgman, your Highness. It is quite late."

 

"We won't take long! We'll just walk to the shore and back. Please?" She grabbed Kristoff's arm, then added with an authoritative tone: "It was Elsa's idea. You wouldn't say no to the Queen."

 

"Well, if that's the case..." She felt Kristoff's bicep relax under her hand. Kai didn't seem super stoked about leaving the two of them alone, but Queen's orders were Queen's orders. (Anna could bet he would check if Elsa had really said that.)

 

"Can I go with you guys?"

 

Anna and Kristoff looked down at Olaf, surrounded by Snowgies. He, unlike Kai, seemed very excited at the prospect of a seaside stroll. "Uh, Olaf, why don't you show the castle to the little ones?" Kristoff suggested. She squeezed his arm in approval. "Just try not to break anything."

 

"Don't stay out too long," exclaimed Kai as they walked away. "And _behave_ , you two."

 

Anna just hoped Kristoff hadn't noticed her blush.

 

* * *

 

 

"I think he doesn't like me very much," Kristoff confessed to her as they reached the castle walls, hand in hand.

 

"Who, Kai?" He hmm-ed in response, greeting the sleepy guard at the gate with a nod. Anna shook her head. "It's nothing personal. After the whole Hans fiasco, they'd be crazy about anyone who tried to get close to me."

 

"Well, it's not really 'being crazy' when there's material evidence, you know," he argued. "The guy left you for dead and tried to kill your sister. They have their reasons to worry."

 

They were walking down the stairs now, on the way to the shore. Anna remembered running down those same stairs on the night of her sister's coronation, when Hans still pretended to care about her. The thought brought back the feelings of helplessness and shock, her whole world turned upside down as the ground under her feet became covered with frost.

 

"I don't want to think about _that_ on my birthday," She shuddered, hugging Kristoff's arm. He didn't seem to mind. "On a brighter note, the whole experience was a lesson at gauging a man's character."

 

"You're better at it now, I hope," Kristoff smirked.

 

Anna smiled at him. " _Much_ better."

 

She dropped his arm when they reached the small rocky beach that surrounded the castle walls. They walked side by side for a while in comfortable silence, enjoying the breeze and the sunny night. Kristoff wrapped his arm around her shoulders, and she snuggled against his side.

 

"So, how does being nineteen feel?"

 

Anna sighed contentedly. "It's been great so far. I mean, Elsa being sick puts a bit of a damper on it, but it was still  _way_  better than my last thirteen birthdays."

 

Kristoff's laugh reverberated through his rib cage against her cheek. "When you two arrived in the middle of that Snowgie crisis, I thought she was going to kill me for messing up her decorations. She was driving herself mad with all the party planning. She wanted it to be perfect."

 

"But it _was_  perfect." Anna started counting on her fingers as she listed her reasons. "I got several gifts, I got to spend time with my sister... and there was ice cream cake. It doesn't get much better than that."

 

He let go of her and crossed his arms, looking offended. "Oh, so I'm not on your list of what makes a birthday perfect? After all the trouble I had? Now I'm hurt."

 

Anna rolled her eyes and laughed. "You're so dramatic! Of course you are on the list." She pulled on his forearms until he uncrossed them and wrapped her into a hug. She pretended to reflect for a moment, poking his chest with her chin. "Right there after the cake."

 

He chuckled. "Next year I'll hide  _inside_ the cake, just to make sure I get your attention." Hm. Kristoff-filled cake actually sounded like a great idea.

 

"Well, next year don't leave in the middle of the party, not even if Elsa invites Marshmallow." She tried to look mad at him, but he just grinned, kissed her forehead and tightened the hug. She rested her cheek on his chest, listening to his peaceful heartbeat, gazing the shimmer of sunlight reflected on the water.

 

Yes, being nineteen felt wonderful so far, but she knew once Elsa got better from her cold she would start sending her on diplomatic missions and charitable events, because apparently that's what adult princesses do. There would be fewer picnics and more meetings, less time reading novels and more documents to sign, less idle walks at the market fair and more visits to orphanages and hospitals. Next thing she knew, she would be a wife and a mother and a political figure and _old_. Becoming a woman sounded scary and inevitable out of a sudden.

 

"I want to do something a little crazy," Anna decided, looking at the sea.

 

"I always dread when you say that," Kristoff mumbled, his voice muffled against the top of her head.

 

"How cold do you think the water is?"

 

He tightened his embrace. "Way too cold. Please don't jump into it."

 

"I won't _jump_  into it," Anna rolled her eyes. "I'll just step into it a little."

 

"Why?"

 

"It's been ages! I think I haven't stepped into the sea since I was a kid." She could count on her fingers the times she had been allowed to leave the castle since she and Elsa stopped sharing a room, and none of those had involved enjoying time at the beach. Then, after Elsa's coronation, she was free to come and go as she pleased - but the weather had been too cold most of the year, and there had been so much to do, the thought of getting near the water hadn't crossed her mind until now. "I'm just going to wet my toes. Bear with me?"

 

Kristoff let go of her and crossed his arms again. "I think you're jealous of Elsa's cold."

 

She steadied herself on his forearm as her other hand pulled off her shoes and stockings. "Hold these for me, please."

 

He relented, even though it was clear that he wasn't happy. "Be careful," he shouted after her as she started walking towards the waterline, holding up her skirts. "The rocks are slippery. If I bring you back home with anything broken, they'll have me hanged."

 

"I'm fine!" She slipped on a large pebble as she said that, but she managed to keep her balance. She chased the track of the waves for a reasonable distance and waited for the water to lull back towards her. She guessed it would be cold from the way the surface of the rocks felt against the soles of her feet, but when the next wave splashed against her calves, it still caught her by surprise. "Oh my  _God_ , this is cold."

 

"I told you so," she heard Kristoff shouting from behind her, and it was infuriatingly hilarious.

 

"This was _not_ my brightest idea," Anna shouted back at him. She was cursing herself on the back of her mind, teeth chattering as she laughed. She turned back to look at him, and he was laughing too, shaking his head.

 

"You're wetting half your legs, not just your toes. Come back here." Enough of reckless adventures for the day, Anna decided, walking back to him carefully. When she reached a more stable ground, she started jumping up and down, overexcited by the cold. "Here, hold your shoes." Kristoff handed her things back to her and swept her off her feet without warning. She yelped and giggled as he carried her all the way to a cement bench near the castle walls. He sat her down gently, then plopped down beside her, straddling the bench.

 

The water had reached the hem of Anna's skirts. She folded her left leg and tried to dry it on her petticoats as best as she could before putting on her stocking. "Well, that was nice. I'm completely awake now, and my feet will fall off, but it was nice."

 

Kristoff laughed. "Your feet won't fall off. Believe me, I've seen guys who lost toes to frostbite. You'd need water a lot colder than that."

 

"Ew." She folded her right leg then, rubbing her skirts on her foot. "You still have all your toes, right?" She asked half-jokingly.

 

"Yes, all twelve of them."

 

Anna stopped in her tracks and looked at Kristoff out of the corner of her eye - who knew, it could be true, and if it was she didn't want him to feel like he was a freak or something - but he was holding back a laugh.

 

She whipped her stocking at him. "You're ridiculous."

 

"You like it," he laughed, and it was true.

 

She finished putting on her right stocking, but didn't bother with her shoes. Instead, she turned to lean on Kristoff's chest and sat with both legs up on the bench. His arms circled her waist and he laid a kiss on her temple.

 

"Let me ask you something." Anna said, playing with the hair on his arm. "Back there at the party... when you said... you know." She felt his chuckle against her back. He tried to hide his face in her hair, but she turned to look at him. "Did you mean that, or was it just the heat of the moment?"

 

He took a deep breath and looked into her eyes, voice unwavering. "I meant that."

 

"Yeah?"

 

"Yeah."

 

She smiled playfully, lifting an eyebrow. "So, would you say about a year is a good time frame to call it 'true love'?"

 

"I never claimed to be a love expert, but it sounds right." Kristoff laughed. The reddish tone on his cheeks was most definitely not due to the sunset light. "The actual love experts tried to marry us off right away, so maybe they knew it long before I did."

 

So there it was. Not that he hadn't already made his feelings it fairly obvious over the eleven months they'd known each other. Not by words, but by actions; they didn't really talk much about their relationship or how they felt about each other. They just... cared, and showed they cared at every opportunity.

 

She snuggled closer, wrapping her arms around his midriff. "Yeah, I guess they knew it." Then, after reflecting for a moment, she added, "long before both of us did."

 

Kristoff looked into her eyes again, catching the meaning of her words.

 

"Yeah?"

 

"Yeah."

 

He smiled. After everything that had happened the previous summer, it would still take her a while until she felt safe enough to make a proper love declaration — she still had trouble saying the word to Elsa, of all people. But the time would come, and until then, he already knew.

 

He brushed a strand of her hair off her face, his other arm around her shoulder. She felt his heart beating faster, his gaze moving to her mouth as she wet her lips.

 

"You know what I just realized?" He whispered, and for a moment her heart stopped. "I owe you a birthday kiss."

 

She sighed, relieved. "You owe me a birthday kiss. And you better hurry up, before the day—"

 

His lips were on hers before she could finish. He dipped her back, his other arm wrapping around her waist; she ran a hand on the hair of his nape, pulling him closer. They had had their share of kisses over that almost-year of getting to know each other, but not like this one, with bodies pressed tightly and tongues circling each other in her mouth. If this was how they were going to do this from now on, she could see herself digging this whole adulthood thing.

 

She let out a whimper when he let go of her lips. "Happy birthday," Kristoff whispered, and Anna was very pleased to notice he, too, was a little short of breath. At that moment, the church bells chimed in with the first of twelve strikes, the sound traveling through the port all the way from the main square in town. "And just in time," he chuckled, rubbing the tip of their noses together.

 

Anna looked at the deep oranges and reds in the sky, the dark silhouette of the North Mountain standing out in the distance. The sun was almost completely hidden behind the mountains now, but it wouldn't be long before it reappeared on the other side of them and continued its journey towards the west.  _Best birthday ever_ , she thought to herself, snuggling in Kristoff's arms, and for the first time in forever she didn't want her day to end.

**Author's Note:**

> Frozen Fever is a timeline mess. We have Word of God statements that Anna's birthday falls on the summer solstice; that would set the short film almost a year after the events of Frozen (which, according to Oaken's line to Kristoff, is set in July). Plus, the short seems to end around sunset considering the colors of the sky, but Arendelle is Disney's Norway, so the sun should not have set at all on the solstice. For the sake of my sanity, I'm assuming nothing much has happened between The Great Thaw and Anna's 19th birthday. This story is meant to set FF's inner timeline straight, at least.
> 
> I had originally visualized the scene ending with the sun going down at sea, on the horizon. Then it hit me - if the sun rises in the east and sets in the west, where does the midnight sun happen? Turns out it happens somewhere around north. And the North Mountain must have that name for a reason. So I had to mentally turn the whole scenery around, but I guess it works better this way anyway.
> 
> I've had a draft of this fic sitting on my hard drive since May 2017. It took me a whole year, but the Christmas in July theme meant I had to get over my writer's block to finish it. Of course I still busted the deadline, but hey. Small victories, right?


End file.
